Intro Scene Analyses Limitless

    Limitless

The first thing we hear is the violent banging on the door and the chainsaw this is a diegetic sound this help the audience is be taken into the action immediately and the rest of the movie will be build up towards this scene. The non diegetic sound of some slow music does not hold any tension behind it, this make the scene feel as if its the end of the movie.

The camera pans across the scene this because the camera is trying to find the clues to the story that has already unfolded. By using this technique the audience is draw in and wants to discover what has happened. The mood and of the opening is cold and bleak because the neighbour is shot and killed and the protagonist is standing on the edge of the building preparing to drop to his death. The narrator is introduced when we the audience see all the chaos the murders and the other characters trying to get into the protagonist apartment. This increases the tension for the scene because we fear that the protagonist/narrator is in terrible danger from these unknown antagonists.

The film begins with a visual effect of white ‘credits’ bouncing in onto a black background.  In addition to this there is a non-diegetic sound effect of a dull, rhythmic ‘banging’ or ‘clanging'. This sound effect creates tension for the audience from the very outset.  Following on from this is a ‘sound bridge’ which leads into the first scene. The audience hears a character’s voice saying ‘’Obviously I miscalculated…’’, with a completely black background. This gives a sense of mystery to the sound perspective. The audience can hear the character speaking to them in a voiceover off screen. This creates a sense of mystery which engages the audience’s attention and builds curiosity.  This is a superb technique to ‘hook’ the audience into the initial scene.

Following this, there is a ‘jump cut’ to a ‘match on action’ scene of a door which is a ‘mid shot’. The metallic, clanging sound continues and shows a door being dented outwards with every blow.  For the audience, this creates curiosity and tension.  The audience is meant to  wonder what is on the other side of the bleak metal door. This frame is a ‘still image’ which appears to be a bleak, plain room. The colours are dark and grey, connoting mystery, danger and darkness.  

This frame then moves to a ‘jump cut’ where it zooms in to a close up shot of the door knob. This editing is an example of ‘Match on Action’ where the mid shot of the door has moved to a close up of the door knob with continued ‘clanging’.  Next is a ‘panning shot’ of the room adjacent which is an example of an ‘establishing shot’.  This scene is an apartment in a city such as New York  The audience knows this because  the background is of numerous tower buildings which are lit up. This is done to show the character is wealthy and is in extreme danger from the person behind the door. The ‘clanging’ noise continues throughout this panning shot.